Continuing her series on Reconstructing Faith, Christy digs into the necessity of beginning with a reconstructed view of God. The god of Christy’s cult days was harsh and demanding. This god was quick to bless good behavior and punish anyone who stepped out of line. Formulaic views of god happen across denominations and in various Christian groups. Christy’s background is in fundamental conservative Christianity, but she’s met people from charismatic churches—specifically ones connected with the New Apostolic Reformation—who have experienced equally demanding and formulaic gods even if the behaviors they expect look a little different.

Who is God? This is the first question we need to try to answer on our faith reconstruction journey. Where do we turn for ideas? If God is real, then we don’t get to decide who He is. We just get to discover Him. Over the years Christy has turned to Scripture, nature, Jesus, people, and the Holy Spirit to discover aspects of God. She is continually amazed and overwhelmed by what she finds. The real God is only bigger and better than we have ever dreamed.

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Christy is back with the Religious Rebels Podcast and an episode introducing a new series on faith reconstruction. We've deconstructed our faith. We've taken apart the pieces. But now we have decided that we want to rebuild our faith centered around the person of Jesus Christ. What does that look like? What questions do we need to ask? What answers do we need to look for?

Although Christy came to faith deconstruction and reconstruction from a place of religious legalism in a fundamental, conservative setting, she also knows that other people are coming out of charismatic settings connected to the New Apostolic Reformation. Despite the different looks, these false versions of Christianity are still filled with rigid expectations and formulaic faith.

Christy introduces this series with the reminder that she is not giving a formula to follow, but is simply talking about important aspects of faith and telling about her own faith reconstruction. Everyone's journey is different. If God is real and He wants to be found, He will reveal Himself to us.

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As someone who grew up in a fundamental Christian cult (Gothard's IBLP of Shiny Happy People), Christy understands the fear and mindset behind Christian Nationalism firsthand. As a teen, she believed that if we could control other people's morality by law, that they would be happier and closer to God. She was taught that America was created as a Christian nation and that it was important to God that it stay that way.

People with similar views are part of the Christian Nationalist movement that we see currently. But that's not all. Christy suggests that a Christian dominionist view supported by the Seven Mountain Mandate popular in NAR churches is colliding with the fundamentalist view to fuel the rapid rise in ideology that we are seeing today.

Christy shares strong doubts about whether either view is accurate or biblical. She points to the example of Jesus who declared that His kingdom was not of this world.

Related Links:

Four Views of the End Times

Examining the Seven Mountain Mandate

Christy’s Links:

Order Christy’s Book HERE

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